A Newcastle man accused of beating a woman, chasing her through an apartment parking lot with a knife and then pointing a revolver at her has been bound over to District Court on three felony charges.
The confrontation allegedly continued all the way to jail, where authorities say he kicked a Weston County sheriff's lieutenant in the stomach.
Kealob James Dondero, 27, faces two counts of aggravated assault and battery and one count of causing bodily injury to a peace officer stemming from the Aug. 1 confrontation.
His case was bound over to District Court on Friday. Dondero faces a potential maximum of 10 years in prison on each count.
Screaming And Yelling
The incident began with screaming in the street.
Shortly before 9 p.m. Aug. 1, a Newcastle police officer was dispatched to an apartment complex after an anonymous caller reported hearing "lots of screaming and yelling coming from the street," wrote Officer McKinzie Parrish in a probable cause affidavit.
When Parrish arrived, a woman told police she had been fighting with her boyfriend, Dondero, who had been drinking.
Police reported seeing injuries to her left knee, lip and left big toe.
The woman told investigators Dondero had "put hands on me" both inside and outside the apartment.
The woman said she had been asking Dondero to go home to Keystone, South Dakota, for about two days. That night, she told him he needed to leave and Dondero began drinking, wrote Parrish.
The woman said the two argued inside the residence.
Dondero allegedly got in her face and she tried to push him away. He responded by kicking her in the chest hard enough to send her flying backward "about 5 feet," according to the affidavit.
Then, she told police, he punched her in the face two or three times and stomped on her foot.
A full-length mirror and a plate were broken during the fight, she said.
The Knife
The woman said she fled the residence to get away from him when he pulled a knife from a block in the kitchen.
As she was leaving, she saw Dondero cutting himself in the abdomen with the knife. He then allegedly pointed it at her.
Dondero followed her outside, where three men arrived at the residence.
Witnesses say he threatened to kill the woman, challenged the three men to fight and threw several of her belongings and a pizza around the parking lot and street.
Then, still holding the knife, he allegedly chased her through the apartment parking lot.
She told police she was afraid he would try to attack someone else.
Investigators later reported finding what witnesses identified as the same knife in the back driver's-side seat of Dondero's vehicle.
The Revolver
The woman told police that as Dondero walked away from the property he pulled out a revolver and aimed it at her.
Then, without pulling the trigger, Dondero allegedly simulated firing three rounds at her.
The woman said she "slid into my door 'cause I didn't know at this point."
Police began searching for Dondero.
At one point, officers believed he had ditched the firearm behind the apartment complex. K-9 Buster was deployed to track for evidence, and officers spent about 30 minutes searching the Warren Street area, but they did not find the revolver.
At about 9:42 p.m., wrote Parish, Dondero returned to the residence.
Four Taser Cartridges
Officers arrived about two minutes later.
Because police were told Dondero had a revolver, Parrish ordered him to get on the ground three times.
Police say Dondero didn't comply.
Parrish fired her Taser but wrote she did not immediately see neuromuscular incapacitation. She fired a second cartridge as another officer fired two of his own.
"After being hit four times by cartridges, Dondero fell to the ground," says the affidavit.
Officers grabbed him, secured his hands behind his back, and handcuffed him.
As Dondero continued arguing and cursing officers, Parrish noticed an approximately 3-inch gash on the left side of his stomach.
She asked Dondero what caused it and whether he wanted medical attention.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he reportedly responded.
Dondero was taken to the Weston County Detention Center.
The confrontation, authorities say, still wasn't over.
At The Jail
Dondero allegedly continued yelling, using profanity and arguing with officers after arriving at the jail.
Authorities say he pulled away from an officer while being taken into the booking area and repeatedly refused directions to sit down.
Officers eventually decided to place him in an observation cell.
Dondero continued resisting as they walked him there, wrote Parrish.
Once inside the cell, Lt. Jason Jenkins moved to shut the door.
Before he could, police say Dondero kicked Jenkins in the stomach, causing him pain.
Jenkins shut the door and repeatedly instructed Dondero to turn around so officers could remove his handcuffs, but Dondero refused.
Jenkins and another officer eventually entered the cell, wrote Parrish.
Dondero allegedly tried to kick the cell door closed on them as they came inside.
The officers took him to the ground, removed his handcuffs, and left the cell.
Dondero made his initial appearance Aug. 4, when his bond was set at $10,000 cash or surety.
He will next appear in Weston County District Court for an arraignment where he is expected to make a plea.
Dondero is represented by attorney Derek Allen Thrall. District Court Judge Stuart Healy III has been assigned to the case.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
